My inspiration for this post came from my dear, longtime blogging friend, Debbie @ Musings by an ND Domer's Mom, who is not only a gifted...
I know in the past, I’ve shared some beautiful photographs of Philadelphia with its stunning architecture and historical ambiance.
However, today I would like to share some of its not-so-stunning ambiance.
Like with most cities, there is both beauty and the beast.
With my camera in hand, I spent 4th of July afternoon walking around the city and enjoying the fact that I had the place to myself, because most urban dwellers were at the Jersey shore tanning their epidermis in the summer sun.
No thank you. I’ve done enough of the sun while living in Florida for 20 years.
I now cheat, and use self-tanner during the summer months. Which kinda makes me look like George Hamilton.
As most of my longtime blogging friends know, I’ve gone from worshipping the sun to treating it as if I were Dracula; cautiously walking on the shady side of the street, as not to turn into a pile of ash.
One of the truly horrific things about city life is that once the summer temperatures reach into the 90’s, the urban air becomes embellished with the pungent aroma of dumpster trash.
I mean think about it….imagine a restaurant dumpster filled with food waste; being magnified by HEAT.
OMG….I hate to be graphic, but it smells like TEN hippopotamus's vomited.
Therefore, as you’re walking pass a garbage dumpster in an alleyway, you literally have to hold your breath in fear you’ll pass out.
In fact, as I’m writing this I can vividly recall exactly what it smells like.
Overall, Philadelphia is a clean city. Yet, it does have area’s that look as though someone dropped a bomb on it. The strange thing about Philly is that on one street it may be gorgeous, however on the next street it appears like a war zone.
But hey….that’s city life. You’ve got the extreme good, bad and ugly.
And as much as I don’t relish looking at it and smelling the bad and the ugly, city living keeps me in touch with how extreme and raw life can be at times. There is no escaping it when you live in a city, because everything is right in your face 24/7.
I know this may sound strange, but there is a part of me that actually likes it.
I can be extreme in areas of my personality, so that’s probably why I feel comfortable as a city dweller.
Here are a few images of some dumpsters and a trash can that I photographed on Monday.
Oh….please feel free to scratch and sniff over each photo, because I had them digitally engraved with the scent of hippopotamus vomit.
This dumpster was perhaps the worst smelling one out of the bunch. I wanted to take out a clothespin and clip it to the end of my nose.
This dumpster was behind a Chinese restaurant. Imagine how pork fried rice smells after being fermented in 95 degree heat. Gag me with a chopstick!
This dumpster I discovered behind another restaurant, and I have to say….it was the lesser of the three evils. Yet, it did stink.
This trash can didn’t smell bad, but it looked disgusting. Notice the pigeons on the right, eyeing that Wendy’s bag on the ground. Pigeons will eat anything. Even half-eaten PICKLES!
I would like to leave you with one of Bette Davis’ famous lines from the movie, Beyond the Forest.
Take it away, Bet….
Have an awesome weekend everyone!
X
X
.jpg)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)